Deuteronomy 10:8

Summary

Deuteronomy 10:8 states that at a specific past time, Yehovah separated the tribe of Levi for three defined tasks: carrying the ark of the covenant, standing before Yehovah, and serving/blessing in his name. The verse closes by noting that this arrangement continues "until this day."

Key words

• hivDil ("he set apart", H0914) — hiphil (causative) perfect verb: the subject (Yehovah) actively causes separation of the tribe, distinguishing it from other tribes; the perfect aspect marks this as a completed past action.
• sheVet ("tribe of", H7626) — construct noun linking to ha-leVi ("the Levite"), forming the phrase "tribe of the Levite," i.e., the Levitical tribe as a single collective unit.
• laSet ("to carry", H5375) — qal infinitive with prefixed la- ("to"), expressing purpose: the infinitive construction states the goal of the setting-apart action rather than a separate finite verb.
• la'aMod ("to stand", H5975) and leshaReT ("to serve", H8334) — both infinitives (qal and piel respectively) continuing the same purpose-chain begun by laSet, piling up successive functions assigned to the tribe.
• uleVarekh ("and to bless", H1288) — piel infinitive joined by the conjunction u- ("and"), the intensive stem indicating a repeated or emphatic pronouncement of blessing "in his name" (bishMo).

What the text says

The verse is built on a single main clause with the finite verb hivDil ("he set apart"), followed by a chain of four infinitive-with-preposition constructions: laSet ("to carry"), la'aMod ("to stand"), leshaReT ("to serve"), and uleVarekh ("and to bless"). This infinitive chain in Hebrew expresses the purposes for which the tribe was separated, all governed by the single main verb. Each infinitive is grammatically dependent, so the Hebrew presents one act of separation with multiple resulting functions, rather than four coordinated actions.

The object markers 'et (H0853) before sheVet ("tribe of") and before 'aRon ("ark of") mark these as direct objects of the finite verb and infinitive respectively, though they are not translated as separate words. The construct chains 'aRon berit-Yehovah ("ark of the covenant of Yehovah") and lifNei Yehovah ("before the face of Yehovah," using feNei, "face of," H6440) show typical Hebrew construct-state stacking, where each noun modifies the next without a separate word for "of."

The phrase ad ha-Yom ha-Zeh ("until this day") uses the demonstrative Zeh ("this," H2088) with double definite articles on Yom ("day") and Zeh, a set idiom marking continuity from the narrated past into the time of the statement.

Differences between versions

The LXX renders the infinitive chain with a mix of infinitives (αἴρειν, παρεστάναι, λειτουργεῖν) and adds ἐπεύχεσθαι ("to pray/invoke") for uleVarekh ("and to bless"), a somewhat different semantic emphasis than the Hebrew's "bless." The Vulgate similarly uses benediceret ("he would bless"), closer to the Hebrew sense. The BSB's "to pronounce blessings" and the addition "as they do to this day" reflect an interpretive expansion not present in the Hebrew's simpler ad ha-Yom ha-Zeh ("until this day").